Scenic Galleries
Midmar
The village of Midmar, by Echt. Midmar Kirk features an impressive stone circle, including a giant 20 tonne recumbent stone some 15 ft x 4 ft in size. The recumbent circle is peculiar to the north east of Scotland and south west Ireland. Recumbent stone circles date back to approx 3000 BC.
Glen Avon
Glen Avon is at the foot of Ben Avon, the most easterly mountain in the famous Cairngorm range. Ben Avon itself is a very large and complex mountain, and stretches towards Inchrory and the River Gairn. Ben Avon is distinguishable from many viewpoints by the dominating granite tors visible on the skyline of its long flat plateau. The highest point of the massif, known as Leabaidh an Dàimh Bhuide (bed of the yellow stag) is classified as both a Munro and a Marilyn.
Dallas Moor
Bordering the boundary of Aberdeenshire is Dallas moor, near Forres and Elgin, on the Moray Firth. The town of Forres in Morray is one of Scotland's oldest small towns. Forres has very impressive parks and gardens, which have led to many awards from the prestigious Britain and Scotland in Bloom competitions.
Craigievar Castle
Craigievar Castle is an iconic tower house, amongst the best preserved and the most loved in Scotland. The large estate features woodland, parkland with magnificent specimen trees, and farmland with extensive views over the surrounding countryside to Bennachie.
Bennachie
As one of the most popular hill ranges in the North-East, Bennachie is very popular with mountain bikers and hillwalkers, thanks to its proximity to Inverurie and Aberdeen.
Bennachie has nine distinctive tops and two ancient hill forts (Pictish and Iron Age). The lower portions of Bennachie are tree covered, which gives way to open moorland further up. The highest summit of Bennachie is Oxen Craig at 528 metres (1732 ft), and the most prominent summit is Mithir Tap.
Slains Castle
Now a crumbling ruin, Slains castle started life as a tower house. The original Slains castle (at a separate site south of Cruden Bay) was destroyed by King James VII in retaliation for support given to the rebellious uprising of 1594. In 1597 a the Earl of Errol built a tower house north of Cruden Bay to become the replacement castle.
